1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to electrical inductors, principally in filter applications, and, more particularly, to the improvement of performance of filter inductors at high frequencies, especially in multi-phase power supplies and voltage converters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Resistance, capacitance and inductance are three fundamental electrical properties which are exhibited to a greater or lesser degree by any structure capable of carrying a current. Electrical elements are often identified by one of these properties which is dominant in the electrical behavior of that element although the element may also exhibit parasitic properties which may be significant or even dominant under particular conditions. An inductor is thus a basic and fundamental electrical element which is constructed to develop a voltage across it which opposes a change in current through it; a function generally achieved by one or more coils of a conductor, referred to as a winding. Thus, inductors are often employed as series filter elements and in resonant circuits. Power supplies and electromagnetic interference (EMI) suppression filters are examples of types of circuits in which the use of inductors is common.
As alluded to above, however, all practical embodiments of electrical devices, regardless of the characteristic intended to be dominant, will exhibit some other parasitic characteristics to some degree. The degree to which such parasitic characteristics are reduced in a given device, generally by careful control of structural dimensions and materials, is generally a primary indicator of the quality thereof. In inductors, a principal parasitic characteristic is referred to as the equivalent parallel winding capacitance or, simply, equivalent parallel capacitance (EPC) which can be modeled as a small capacitor connected in parallel with a winding of the inductor. Any practical inductor will also exhibit an equivalent parallel resistance (EPR) which can be modeled as a similar connection of a resistor in parallel with the inductor.
Unfortunately, such a parasitic capacitance provides substantially the opposite effect as that desired from an inductor and such effect increases with increase of frequency; often encountered in current circuit designs such as microprocessors. Specifically, for an ideal inductor having inductance L, the impedance at a frequency, f, is given by the equationZL=j2πfLwhich thus increases with increasing frequency. However, the EPC between turns and between each turn and between respective windings of a practical inductor at very high frequencies where the EPC dominates the effect of the inductance, the impedance thus becomesZL=1/j2πf (EPC)which decreases with increasing frequency and may therefore severely compromise the desired and intended filter and/or protective function of the inductor by providing a low impedance parallel path for high frequency signal components such as are encountered in electromagnetic interference (EMI) and engendered in power supply or power converter switching and by digital circuit loads such as microprocessors. Thus, it is desirable to reduce EPC as much as possible, particularly since a small EPC value is generally considered to be a strong indicator of the quality of the inductor element. However, to date, reductions in EPC by control of materials and device geometry and other techniques at the present state of the art are generally limited to about 30%; leaving a significant value of EPC which continues to limit the working frequency of inductors for providing a filter function while requiring arrangements, structures and designs of substantial complexity and criticality.